Chapter 2: Ah Yes, the Plot

“Now that’s a sight.”

I smiled at Electra’s words. “It’s a start.”

She huffed. “Never satisfied, are you?”

“No.” My smile grew. “I will never be satisfied.”

She gave me a complicated glance, before shrugging. “I mean, better than settling, I guess.”

The two workmen were a bit more shocked by the way I’d lit up the night, of course. This was… still just something small for me and Electra. Practically more a proof of concept than an actual electric grid. But to people who were used to living by candlelight, suddenly having morning in the middle of the night was sure to be a surprise.

There were mage lights of course, but as I’d learned from my enchanter back in Silverwall, such things were the domain of the rich.

“It’s beautiful, my lady.”

I looked over at Rel. She had her hands pressed to her chest, eyes sparkling.

“Oh?”

She nodded. “It’s like a sea of light.”

I tilted my head, remembering how on our first outing together, Rel had never been afraid of the waves, only the monsters on shore. It was a distant memory, but it sparked a connection. “Do you like the ocean, Relia?”

Rel gave a little start, glancing over at me in surprise. Then her features softened into a smile of her own. “Yes. My mother… she was a ship captain.” Rel turned back to the lights below. “She would tell me stories of her voyages when I was a little girl.”

I blinked. “The compass. Rel, you didn’t have to—”

“I know I didn’t.” She ducked her head. “But you needed it more than I did, and…” she reached into her vest, pulling out the compass I’d retooled into an elaborate pocket watch. “I think my mother would have liked what you did with it.”

I gave a quiet laugh. “I’ll show you more oceans than this,” I said, in lieu of anything else. “This is just a puddle, in comparison to what I have planned.” I smiled, both at my minion and at the people below. “Ineir will be so much more.”

“I believe you.”

Of course, that was when the eastern palisade exploded.

My head snapped up, tracking the fireball that erupted from beyond the outer wall. With the street lights, I could just make out a scorched section, where logs were sagging inward.

Well, it was about time to tear down the ad-hoc thing anyway.

“Empress.”

I nodded at Electra. “Go.”

She sank into a crouch before leaping from the balcony, arcs of electricity streaming from her heels. Her newest skill.

I hadn’t been idle either, though.

I waved a hand, and a winged demon, shaped like a long blue pterodactyl, formed at my side. He was twice the size of Blue, and before, would have been far beyond my ability to sustain with my mana pool. But now, that was much less of a problem.

I leapt on his back, raising a fist for the people below to see as I took off into the air. At the last second, Rel jumped up behind me, holding onto my shoulder with one hand.

A cheer went up, starting with my own men, before swelling to encompass everyone in the village.

Your skill Crowd Sourcing has increased to level 5

I huffed. It made things too easy some times. Granted, I’d learned how to play a crowd from the best of them.

I tore through the night on Pterry’s back. She was a good girl, easily my favorite of the flying demons I’d contracted, and even with Electra’s head start, we found the source of the explosion at the same time.

There was a group of bandits on the road, pursuing a fleeing caravan.

I frowned, leaning over. Rel’s hand on my back kept me stedy from my perch.

No, not just bandits. I huffed. “Another group of guildies.”

Rel’s grip tightened. “You would think they would all be gone by now.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, well, they all got kicked out of Silverwall, so of course they’d all end up here eventually.” I was sure it was Arlo just making more trouble for me after I ditched. My fellow gang leader was a spiteful and pragmatic fellow like that.

“There’s still an adventurer’s guild in Silverwall,” Rel reminded me.

I snorted. We’d heard the same rumors after all. “A gutted corpse completely under the control of the City Guard.”

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This is where the rest of the surviving guildies had turned.

As I watched, one of the men in the back hurled another fireball. The first one had missed the caravan, but they were closing distance.

A spear of lightning tore through the knight, shattering the other’s skull. Electra slid to a stop next to the caravan, waving them onwards to Ineir. The group of raiders cum adventurers slowed. I counted seven, half mounted, the rest on foot. No doubt they’d laid the ambush for the caravan.

My eyes flicked to them, noting the arrows sticking out of the wood and the way the horses heaved from where they’d sprinted down the road.

I said caravan, but really, it was just two carts. If they had someone give them a warning, they could have outrun the initial attack. Well, for a bit at least.

It looked like the group of bandits wasn’t going to wait on Electra forever though. So I kicked my heels into Pterry’s flanks and we dived.

Even in this world, people rarely looked up.

Rel and I landed behind the group in a gust of wind. Rel slid off my demon, slinking into the shadows. She was no , but she was the next best thing.

Meanwhile, I pressed my hands together into a fist, and the wrist-mounted laser lit up with a whine. Without a power core, I had enough juice for two shots, and then I’d be walking home in a tin can.

Fortunately, so far I’d never needed more than one.

“And who the hell are you people?” My voice rang across the road. The group shifted slightly, pinned between two people of a higher level. No one here was above level 10. Meanwhile, Electra and I were nearing in on our tier two classes.

And, you know, there was also a giant flying lizard, grinning at them toothily.

Unsurprisingly, none of them were willing to step forward.

I aimed my wrist laser. “Well, if none of you are willing to talk.”

“Scatter!” the mage shouted.

I clicked my tongue, holding my shot as the rogue tossed a handful of smoke bombs on the ground. Actual factual smoke bombs. Were we in one of Electra’s anime or something?

With a mental command, Pterry took off again, pushing off the ground with a massive beat of her wings. It cleared the smoke as well, revealing the fleeing figures in the fading light. I dove after one.

The figure in leather armor must have heard the whistling of the wind, and dove to the side just as we cut through the air behind him. I let out a hiss of frustration as they vanished into the jungle, before circling back around.

From the air, I was in a commanding position, but the canopy was thick, and with the sun fully beyond the horizon now, there was no way I could pick out anything.

I circled for a moment more before returning to the road.

Electra and Rel likewise returned empty handed.

“I’m sorry, my lady.” Rel gave a bow. “I was too far away when they ran.”

I waved her off, raising an eyebrow at Electra. She was fast enough to take them down with her new Lightning Sprint ability.

“I stayed to make sure no one went after the caravan.” She shrugged. “Figured we can probably get the story from them just as easy.”

I sighed. “You’re probably right. Still, it would have been nice to handle that problem before it could crop up again.”

Electra ran a hand through her hair. She had it pulled back into a ponytail now, but even that couldn’t contain its inherent spikiness. “We’ve already taken care of all of the dumb ones. Makes sense only the smart guys are left.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is why I prefer to have a monopoly.”

Electra snorted. “What, on intelligence?”

“Well, why do you think I never tried to flip you.”

“Rude.” She sniffed, turning away. “See if I help you when we get back to Earth.”

I rolled my eyes, noting how Rel stiffened slightly at my side. “Whatever, let’s go deal with the people showing up at our door.” I gave a small frown. “Last I checked, we hadn’t sent anyone to Silverwall in the past week.”

“Nope.” Electra started walking, with Pterry padding after her. My girl wasn’t the fastest on the ground, but she was certainly the most eye-catching. Too bad Blue wasn’t big enough to ride. “Everyone’s been heading south to Corvandr.”

“How odd.”

We made it back to Ineir quickly enough. There were a few people standing around the new palisade, more specifically the newer hole in it, and Electra waved them off. It was late enough, and today had been busy for everyone, putting the finishing touches on the streetlights.

Now how was I going to sell running them all underground? Maybe if I made something that could dig trenches for the wires first.

I shook my head.

Dee and Dum had the two wagons stopped next to what was generously called the gate. Really, it was just an opening in the palisade that we could drag another section of wall in front of if we needed to. I took in the people riding with it in a glance.

They were the same as my people.

Tired and hungry, young and old. There was a weariness in their eyes, so tired that no one even flinched as Pterry came to a stop in front of them. But there was a spark of hope as well, one that had not yet been extinguished.

And that’s what made them my people.

“Why have you come to Ineir?” I asked. My voice carried, and at that the travelers shifted. Finally, an old woman came forward, slipping off of the first cart.

She was stooped, wrapped in rough homespun. I tried to ignore how she’d still have been taller than me if I was standing on the ground. “Heard things were good out here.” She gave a slow shrug, her voice low and raspy. “Better than in Silverwall.”

Electra tilted her head. “What’s happening in Silverwall?”

“Nothing good.” The old woman bobbed her head. “Guilds’ve been driving up the price o’ everything, guard won’t do anything ‘bout it. No work either, less you sign up with one of the guilds now. Went and drove everyone else out of business.”

I sighed. “Rank protectionism.” I turned to Electra. “What do you think?”

She gave me a look. Yes, yes, I knew what she was going to say, I just wanted her to be the one to say it. “We can always use more hands. Lots of new things that need doing ‘round here.” She grinned. “If you’re all willing to learn.”

The woman nodded, the tension easing from her shoulders.

“We have communal dormitories for the work crews,” I said. “We’ll get you settled there for the night, and figure out more permanent residence in the morning. Any news from Silverwall would be appreciated.” I paused. “And also, we will need to know why you were ambushed.”

The crowd shifted again at that, muttering.

I continued. “That was hardly some random group of bandits. Guild Remnants, this far south? They looked like they were doing well for themselves too. Hardly the type of living you can afford off of knocking over starving caravans.”

I looked them over, face firm.

To be clear, I wasn’t going to turn them away. Even if we didn’t need more hands, more eyes, more everything, Electra and Rel would have gutted me in my sleep if I’d sent them packing.

But I liked to get out in front of my problems when I could. Which, in case you haven’t been keeping track, was always.

We stayed there in silence for a handful of moments, then the crowd shifted again, parting to let a younger woman to the front. She was wearing a headscarf and keeping her head bowed, but even at first glance I could tell that her clothing was nicer than the people surrounding her.

She came to a stop in front of Pterry, hands rising up to her shawl. “It’s me.” She lowered the wrappings, revealing silver hair and golden eyes that seemed to glisten in the lights of Ineir. Beside me, Rel sucked in a sharp gasp. “They are after me.”

I stared at her for a long moment. God, I hated missing the context. That shit was for other people.

Then I sighed. “Might as well get you all inside then. It’s been a long night.”

And it wasn’t over yet.